Question about art pads.

[Angel Natavi]

What would be a good model for a price range of 100 to three hundred?  

[Crenn]

What size?

WACOMM is the best IMO.  

[Angel Natavi]

Umm... Digital preferably, as big as possible for the price. What is IMO?  

[Crenn]

In My Opinion

Digital is natural! And you might be able to get a Intous 3 9x12, but some would recommend a smaller tablet, so maybe go for a 6x8?  

[Angel Natavi]

A nine inch by a foot? And this is what others typically buy? (Has no clue about drawing pads.) I saw one today that was three by four, and went for 150. It was really shody looking too...  

[Krissim Klaw]

One word, Wacom. Every artist I have talked to has always suggested them for tablets. I have the Intuos 9X12 and I absolutely love it, and would totally suggest it. Depending on your personal prefrences though you may want to go larger or smaller in size. Also depends on how much work space you have.

If price is an issue though, you can always check out the Graphire by wacom. I have never tried one, but a lot of artists I know use it and only have good things to say about them.  

[Crenn]

Krissim Klaw

If price is an issue though, you can always check out the Graphire by wacom. I have never tried one, but a lot of artists I know use it and only have good things to say about them.

Just like to add onto this. I've used a Graphire 4 6x8 (which is the top of the Graphire 4 range) and it's still very good.

But there is no 9x12 Graphires.  

[Davin_Nightwind]

I have a Graphire 3 6X8, and it's a fine tablet. I actually recommend going through Pricewatch and run a search for Wacom. They usually pull up some good deals. I was just there and they had an Intuos 3 6x8 for $285 through NewEgg. There was also a Graphire 4 6x8 from FuturePowerPC for $174.99.  

[Angel Natavi]

Okay, I should have asked this before. But, from what I can tell, they are all good devices, price and size wise. But, what are the pros and cons of them when compaired to each other? Ie, what kinds of things can they be used for in general, and what does each model offer in competition with another?  

[Davin_Nightwind]

The Graphire is a basic tablet, good for someone that's just starting out. It has basic functionality and a decent pressure sensitivity, which is good to let you get the feel for a tablet.

The Intuos is a much more advanced tablet, with a greater pressure sensitivity and tilt detection (useful for airbrushing), as well as several other features. It also comes in much larger sizes than the Graphire.

Usewise, tablets are more suited for artists and photo editors. Photoshop, Corel, and several other art and photoediting programs provide support for tablets. They're also decent for general computer usage, like browsing the internet, as they take away the risk of jacking up your wrist like a mouse can. Don't try to game with one, however. It just doesn't work. That, and it feels awkward to even try.

All in all, it really depends on what you want to do. But I will say this...There is a bit of a learning curve on using a tablet, and you may find yourself doing odd little things that you did with a pencil. Hell, I still find myself trying to brush away eraser crumbs after I erase with my tablet.  

[Angel Natavi]

Hmmm.... Sounds interesting. Anyone else?